Everything about stained and decorative glass, in one place
How each kind of glass is made, where to see it, who made it, and how to try it yourself. Real windows, photographed and explained in plain language.
Decorative glass for your home and business
Doors, windows, panels and screens: how each kind of decorative glass looks, what it does, and where it works best.
Front doors and entrances
Etched, bevelled, leaded or coloured glass for the most seen glass in the house.
Etched glass
Frosted patterns for privacy and light, in doors, panels and screens.
Bevelled glass
Polished angled edges that throw soft rainbows, in doors and sidelights.
Kitchens, bathrooms and stairs
Room-by-room ideas for privacy, light and a feature.
Leaded lights
Traditional and modern designs in lead, from diamond panes to flowing patterns.
A stained glass tour of the UK
Cathedrals, parish churches, college chapels and even a theatre, mapped place by place. Follow a trail through medieval, Victorian or modern glass, and see what to look for at each stop.
Start where you like
Whether you have spotted a window you want to know more about, are thinking of making glass yourself, or are choosing something for your own home, these are the quickest ways in.
Glass Types
From leaded lights and stained glass to etching, bevelling and fused glass.
Photo Gallery
Browse photographs by glass type, period, motif and place.
Glass for Your Home
Front doors, etched and bevelled panels, and ideas room by room.
Artists
The people behind the glass, starting with Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Learn
Guides to tools, safety, skills and the history of stained glass.
Conservation and Restoration
What goes wrong with old glass, and how it is mended.
Find the kind of glass you are looking at
Decorative glass is not one craft but many. Each page explains how the glass is made, where it is used and how to recognise it, and links to photographs of real examples.
- Leaded Lights: windows made of many small pieces of clear or coloured glass held in lead.
- Decorative Bevelled Glass: thick glass with its edges ground and polished at an angle.
- Acid Etched Glass: a frosted, smooth surface made by acid eating into the glass.
- Sandblasted Glass: frosted and carved designs made by firing abrasive at the surface.
- Overlay Stained Glass: a modern way of getting the look of a leaded window using applied materials.
- Brilliant Cut Glass: deep, polished grooves cut into glass with spinning wheels.
- Fused Glass: pieces of glass heated in a kiln until they join.
- Traditional Stained Glass: coloured glass, painted and held together with lead, as in the great church windows.
- Kiln Formed Glass: glass shaped by heat, by slumping, casting or fusing.
- Conservation and Restoration: keeping and repairing old glass.
- Ecclesiastical Stained Glass: glass made for churches and cathedrals.
Church and cathedral glass has its own pages: see Ecclesiastical Buildings and the stained glass tour of the UK.
From the photo gallery
Every photograph is described, dated where possible and sorted by glass type, so you can follow a style from one building to another. See the whole gallery.
Learn how it is done
Stained glass is a patient craft, and it is easier to enjoy once you know what is involved. The guides start with whether it suits you and go on to tools, safety, cutting, soldering and the history of each technique.
- Glass for a front door
- Etched glass for homes
- Bevelled glass for homes
- Decorative glass for kitchens, bathrooms and stairs
- Decorative glass for pubs, shops and restaurants
- Where is the oldest stained glass?
- Is stained glass right for you?
- Glass tools and equipment
- Working safely with glass
- How to cut glass
- How to grind glass and apply copper foil
- How to solder
- How to make a leaded panel
- Copper foil stained glass
- How bevelled glass is made
- Roundels and bullseyes
- How painted glass is fired
- Firing temperatures for fused glass
- A short history of stained glass
- How window glass was made
- The history of brilliant cut and bevelled glass
- Where overlay stained glass came from
- How to read a church window
- Types of stained glass sheet
- Window styles by period
- Famous workshops and makers
- Stained glass tour of the UK
Unsure what a term means? The glass glossary explains over 250 words used in stained glass and glass making.
Latest news: National Glass Centre and Sunderland glass courses close. More in Glass News.
This site is independent and free to use. Read more about it.